After leaving the Mexican Festival, we hopped a train to Yoyogi Park where we met up with more friends at an Indian Festival. It is the largest Indian Festival in Japan and they expected more than 200,000 people. Honestly, it was fantastic! There were tons of food vendors, tents with shopping, entertainment, and other sights to see. Here we are with the Lord Ganesha. According to Hindu religion, Ganesha became the Lord of all existing things after winning a contest against his brother, Kartikay. When tasked with a race around the universe, instead of taking off running like his brother, he walked in circles around his father and mother, Shiva and Parvati, as the source of all existence.
My favorite part of the festival was the shopping. Here are some magnificent textiles...in fact, I bought some myself. One for the back of my couch and the other as a table runner. I have to say that each time I see it, it makes my day a little brighter. They are just so beautiful.
While browsing the booths we came upon a woman doing henna. I was super excited and hopped in the chair to get painted mine. It was amazing how quickly she worked. In just over 5 minutes she was finished.
Here is the final product. I loved it so much that I have even contemplated getting this design as my next tattoo. I had never gotten henna before, and was surprised that she put it on like cake icing. Once it dried, it was like mud and cracked to fall off. The "mud" stained my skin and when it fell off, it left a light brown stain. The picture below is before the mud fell off. I would have liked it to be darker, but I suppose I'll just have to venture to India for the real thing.
Let's just say that the Indian hats don't look great on me. I'd much rather wear a scarf.
Here is a shot of some of the entertainment. There were tons of shows, but this was the main stage. I was bummed to miss the Bollywood dancers...I was too busy shopping.
As I was browsing, I noticed the tag on these pants. I thought, exactly how big is size free?
I REALLY wanted to buy these...even just for Halloween. I'm sure that if I wait long enough, I will see a pair walking around Tokyo or even on the train.
Don't worry Mom, I didn't buy any more shoes. I just thought it was an interesting picture.
Some more of the brightly colored textiles for sale.
This is a sand sculpture...I was amazed at how intricate the details were on the face.
I haven't yet made it to the real Taj Mahal, so I will have to settle for this right now.
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